Chinese customs officials have seized a map showing Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh as part of India.
Map confiscated by China (The Paper.com/Shanghai Customs)
Chinese customs recently confiscated a large consignment of locally made world maps. In this, Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh were shown as part of India. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet. At the same time, he is sitting in possession of Aksai Chin, which is claimed by India. It includes the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) as part of Southwest Hotan County.
A consignment worth about $600 was confiscated during a customs check at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. According to a report by ThePaper.com website, at least 300 packages exported as bed covers were taken out of the express channel for closer inspection during check-up. It was found that the bed cover map shows Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as Indian territories, as seen in the Indian map.
Violation of the laws of making Chinese maps
The report said that the goods were immediately confiscated, as they violated the legal provisions for the preparation of the Chinese map. This provision is under the ‘Regulation on the Management of Map Drawing and Publication’ of the State Council and Cabinet of China. The rules state that Chinese maps should not display material that endangers national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Paper.com website article identifies the creator of the map or where the maps were to be exported. This information has not been given.
Similar maps were destroyed in 2019 as well
It is believed that this consignment will be destroyed and the company making it will be fined. As soon as the information about the map was received, angry Chinese social media users should immediately shut down the company and the officials were asked to punish the owner of the map making company. Earlier in March 2019, around 30,000 world maps showing Arunachal Pradesh as a separate country to India and Taiwan were destroyed by customs officials in the city of Qingdao in the eastern province of Shandong. China is particularly sensitive to showing Arunachal Pradesh as part of Indian territory and even opposes visits by Indian leaders to the state.
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